Football: Asian Cup clash attracts record TV viewers in China

The Asian Cup quarter-final between Australia and China attracted record TV figures in China. Photo: AFCAsianCup.com.

January 24, 2015: Australia’s 2-0 victory over China in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-final on Thursday attracted the largest TV audience for a football match in China in recent years, with an average audience of 27 million watching on CCTV-5, China’s leading broadcaster.

The peak viewership on CCTV-5 reached 32 million as Australia won through two goals from Tim Cahill in front of a crowd of 46,067 at Brisbane Stadium.

The reach on CCTV-5 – meaning the number of people who watched the quarter-final at any time – was 76 million, with the total reach, including regional broadcasters, hitting 95 million.

The average audience on CCTV-5 exceeded the previous record of 23 million for the second leg of the 2013 AFC Champions League final between China’s Guangzhou Evergrande and Korea Republic’s FC Seoul.